SPM News

This summer, the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska held an outreach event for young people on the reservation. Part of this exploration included art. Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer paints the picture of this creative cultural history lesson. “Can I start?” “Sure!” More than a dozen youngsters with brushes in hand help bring a mural to life, including 15-year-old Traylin Sheridan of Rosalie, Nebraska. She and others work to cover a wall once gilded with graffiti. “Looks like we are painting a

A petition drive condemning Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and lawmakers for passing a law banning mask mandates is gaining traction. Siouxland Public Media talked to the organizer, who says the safety of students and families is at risk. “It started out with us just wanting to make a statement.” Cassie Thompson, a pre-med student at the University of South Dakota launched the petition on change.org as a member of the Siouxland COVID Safety Alliance. “A lot of people are concerned.” The grassroots

A nationally acclaimed artist is putting her talent to work on a mural on West 7 th Street in Sioux City. The mural is part of a multi-million dollar reconstruction project along the West 7 th corridor between Wesley Parkway and Hamilton Boulevard. The creation by Sarah C. Rutherford is the first of several that will be installed on the sides of buildings to help beautify the area. Sarah, who is from Rochester, New York, talked to Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer about the project. You

The number of COVID-19 cases in Nebraska has increased in each of the past ten weeks, and the total nearly doubled over the past two weeks as the highly contagious delta variant of the virus continues to spread. Nebraska reported around 5,000 new cases last week to the CDC. That’s up from the previous week and nearly double the cases recorded the week before. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has risen over the past two weeks from 190 new cases per day on Aug. 15 to

The Education Department says it’s investigating five Republican-led states that have banned mask requirements in schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions. The department’s office for civil rights sent letters to education chiefs in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. Those states have barred schools from requiring masks among students and staff, a move that the department says could prevent some students

The early 19 th century camp site of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was artfully recreated last weekend as part of the annual Sergeant Floyd Memorial Encampment outside of the Sergeant Floyd River Museum. Floyd died in what is now Sioux City; the only man to die on the trip. Siouxland Public Media’s Mary Hartnett visited the site of the recreated camp and spoke with the Corps of Discovery’s blacksmith. As the wind blows and the interstate traffic whizzes by, re-enactors demonstrated some old

This week on The Exchange, we hear both sides of a controversy over the use of American Recovercy Plan Act funds for the new Woodbury Count Law Enforcement Center in Sioux City. Some residents and labor leaders saycoronavirus money should go to help those hurt by the pandemic; not to cover the escalating costs of the LEC. The Board of Supervisors says the higher costs have been caused by supply chain issues that were caused by the pandemic. We hear comments from this week's supervisors' meeting.

Public health officials in Iowa’s largest county are sounding alarms that too few people are wearing masks and getting vaccinated as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations climb in the state to levels not seen since January. The surge of the delta variant of COVID-19 comes as schools go back into session banned from requiring masks by a Republican legislature and governor. The Iowa Department of Public Health in its weekly update Wednesday added 42 deaths, bringing the state total to 6,268

School is back in session in Siouxland and across the country. Parents and kids are beginning their second year while dealing with the coronavirus. The Sioux City Public School Foundation has endeavored to help students with keeping safe, learning in difficult times, providing band instruments and graduation gear. The foundation has three main pillers to its mission. I talked with the foundation’s Mickey Nelson and Michael Rohlena about those pillars and how they are put into practice in the

More than a dozen Woodbury County residents spoke out against using federal coronavirus money to build the new Law Enforcement Center at yesterday’s supervisor’s meeting. Siouxland Public Media’s Mary Hartnett has more. Members of the group United Today, Stronger Tomorrow argued against using more than 15 million dollars in American Recovery Plan Act money, meant to offset costs from the coronavirus pandemic, for the new Law Enforcement Center. The UTST and labor leaders held a press conference